Cowboys Lose a Nail-Biter in Austin, 77-74

Oklahoma State was able to fight back from double-digit deficits multiple times in the second half to keep it close against the No. 11 Texas Longhorns, but it just wasn’t enough as the Cowboys lose a nail-biter in Austin, 77-74. With the loss, the Cowboys move to 6-2 on the season and 0-2 in conference play.

“Obviously really disappointed,” head coach Mike Boynton said following the 77-74 loss to Texas. “I thought we did some things good enough to give ourselves a chance, but we didn’t do enough things well enough long enough to finish the game. Obviously, we’ve got to learn; this league is unforgiving. I told our guys on Thursday when we came back to practice that don’t think for a second Texas was going to feel sorry for us. They were gonna try to come and kick us while we’re down and credit to them, this was their first league game and they played well and found a way to win. I’m proud of our fight, but we’ve got to find a way to be more consistent throughout the game.”

Trailing 67-59 with just under five minutes left in the game, enter Cade Cunningham as the freshman phenom turned up the pressure. He got fouled by Greg Brown on the fast break following a defensive rebound by Anderson on the other end. Cunningham would sink two of the three free throws, getting the Pokes deficit down to 67-61. However, Texas’ Andrew Jones sunk a 3-pointer on the other end to put UT back up 70-61.

Cunningham would get charged with a foul in the next possession, but drove the lane and picked up an and-one with a made free through to cut the Longhorns’ lead back to six, 70-64.

With just under two minutes remaining, Anderson gets a steal for the Pokes that leads to an MA Moncrieffe layup making it a four-point game, 70-66.

After a made free throw by UT’s Brown, Brown was called for goaltending on a Cunningham bucket getting the Pokes back to a three-point game, 71-68.

Bryce Williams nailed a huge corner three following two free throws by UT’s Matt Coleman III to make it a two-point game, 73-71. Greg Brown hit two free throws on the other end before a Bryce Williams miss on the other end, followed by a foul on UT’s Brown to seal the win for the Longhorns.

Cunningham finished the game with 25-points on 9-of-19 shooting, 6-of-8 from the free throw line, with three rebounds, three assists and six rebounds. Both Bryce Williams and Avery Anderson III finished the game with double-digit points, 13 and 11 respectively.

Texas freshman Greg Brown led both sides with 24 points and 14 rebounds.

It was a bit of a slow and sloppy start for both Oklahoma State and Texas on Sunday as both teams combined for 15 first half turnovers and 17 personal fouls. The Cowboys also struggled from 3-point range and the free throw line in the first 20 minutes of action as they shot 20% and 50% respectively. However, the Pokes outshot the Longhorns from the field, 48% to 32%.

The Cowboys would finish the game outshooting the Longhorns 47% to 38% from the field, as well as scoring 44 points in the paint compared to just 24 by the Longhorns.

Freshman Cade Cunningham struggled early on as he had just two points and three turnovers in the first eight minutes of action, but it was the Cowboys that turned it up before the break. The Pokes shot 48% from the field and went into the break with a 34-29 lead.

The Cowboys came out strong the second half and held the lead for the first six and a half minutes, but that’s when the Longhorns started to make their move. Freshman Greg Brown nailed a corner 3-pointer to give UT their first lead since just under the four-minute mark of the first half. Moncrieffe missed a bucket on the ensuing trip back down the court, which led to another 3-ball by Brown to put UT up by four, 47-42, leading to an OSU timeout.

The Longhorns started to turn it on and pull away and would go on a 17-0 run before Cade Cunningham nailed a 3-pointer with 10 and a half minutes left to go in the game to get the Pokes back to a 10-point game, 55-45.

The Cowboys have close to two weeks off before they’re back in action on the road in Lubbock against Texas Tech on Jan. 2.